Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness and The Lost Dominion
by saturn95
Summary: After Lara miraculously survived her feat in Egypt, she returns home a different person. Having been "betrayed" by Von Croy, her life as the world-famous tomb raider comes to a halt. But then, Von Croy suddenly contacts her from Paris in a state of hysteria and Lara has no choice but to acknowledge his pleas for help. What happens next will throw Lara's life completely upside-down.
1. Prologue: The Return of the Monstrum

**Prologue: The Return of the Monstrum**

* * *

 _CENTRAL NATIONAL BUREAU, PARIS_

COMMISIONER MIREPOIX,

SPECIAL CRIMES INVESTIGATION FORCE

TO THE PREFECTURE DE POLICE

 **REPORT ON RECENT SERIAL ATROCITIES WITHIN THE CAPITAL**

As yet no significant arrests have been made for this latest spate of "Monstrum" killings in the capital; seventeen have been reported so far. A woman was seen leaving the apartment of the latest victim, Professor Werner Von Croy. Described as Caucasian, brunette, about 1.8m, and of slim build, she was wearing jeans, a denim jacket, and sported a pony tail. She is dangerous and probably armed. Officers are being advised to use extreme caution when apprehending the suspect.

The press have sensationalized this latest outbreak of killings as "The Monstrum's Dark Renaissance," referring to similar atrocities in the capital over the last decade, and possibly as far back as the 1950s. There are definite links to atrocities in other European cities going back at least 50 years.

Forensics have made no headway regarding the bizarre metallic eruptions found on the bodies of all the victims. At present nothing appears to link any of the individuals involved. There have been significant numbers of casualties within the Parisian gangland factions.

It would appear to be the work of a single, highly psychotic perpetrator. The bodies were desecrated and all crime scenes daubed with unintelligible graffiti, indicating some ritualistic fixation. There are no known survivors of these attacks so far.

The suspect's apprehension should be made top priority.

* * *

November 10, 2002

There was a chilly silence inside the abandoned apartment. The only sounds that could be heard were the pitter-patter of heavy rain drops, the wind blowing from outside, and the booming sounds of thunder that rocked the black skies above the city of Paris. Inside the apartment, a bright flash of lightning illuminated the darkness and revealed the bizarre remnants of the gruesome occurring that happened just two days earlier. Among the wreckage was the gleaming gold-plated jackal walking stick that belonged to one of the latest victims in a series of gory attacks which have literally painted the walls of Paris a deep red. Shards of glass from the broken circular window in the living room were strewn across the blood-stained carpet and the light cream-colored walls exhibited the same strange graffiti that had been reported in each of the other crime scenes. Most notable of these strange markings was the large circular symbol above the fireplace, which seemed to carry some kind of importance to the murderer, whoever the person was. And, just like the other markings that were observed in the other crime scenes, the murderer's medium of choice was the blood of his or her victims. An armchair lay on its side next to a sofa on its back and a small rectangular-shaped table was collapsed at its base by the fireplace on the opposite wall. By contrast, the rest of the apartment was very tidy just as it was before the gory events unfolded, but the scars from the incident created a dark and chilling atmosphere that forced much of the city of Paris into hiding. Clearly, no one in the city was safe, not even those who thought they were over-privileged enough to avoid it at any cost.

Even now, no one was able to understand what happened, or even why it happened. The victim's body had already been taken away and police tape guarded the entrance to the apartment to keep people out...but not for very much longer. It was only a matter of moments before the sound of footsteps became prevalent outside the room and in the illuminated main hallway that connected the other apartment suites. They stopped in front of the abandoned apartment. The police tape that guarded the door was ripped down and the dark figure of a woman opened the door and emerged around the corner into the gloomy crime scene. After a moment of observing the somewhat familiar surroundings, she started to slowly walk down the tiny hall and around the corner before emerging into the main living area. She paused again, taking in the depressing scenery as another flash of lightning illuminated the dark room before making her way over to the broken window, taking slow tiny steps to avoid disrupting the evidence left behind. That was when her right foot came across something on the floor.

CRACK.

She looked down to the floor and saw that it was a framed photograph, despite barely being able to make it out in the darkness. The woman picked up the picture and scraped the loose glass shards to reveal the image. In the picture were two people and in the background she saw that they were both standing under a sandy blue sky in the middle of a desert next to a large stone with Egyptian hieroglyphics. Obviously the picture had been taken in Egypt. The person on the right was an older man with round glasses and white hair wearing beige-colored clothing, the prominent wardrobe choice of the typical archaeologist. The person on the left was a younger woman with auburn hair that was tied back into a French braid. She sported a light blue sleeveless top and brown khaki shorts and round red-colored sunglasses. Looking at the picture, the woman recognized the younger woman in the photograph as herself, at a time when everything in her life seemed much better. For a quick moment, a rush of nostalgia started to creep into the back of her mind as she looked down at the broken memory, but it was soon replaced with regret and sorrow as she started to question herself and who she really was as an individual.

After another moment of examining the photograph, the woman walked over to a large painting over by the broken circular window and set it on the chest of drawers just below it. A flash of lightning illuminated the darkness inside the apartment and Lara Croft briefly saw her reflection in the glass, the hardened and blackened shadow of her former self shown in the picture. The once great 'tomb raider' and explorer who used to seek mythical treasures and relics around the world and uncover lost civilizations that would have otherwise remained lost forever was no longer. Her tomb raiding days have become a distant memory. She starred questionably into the painting, trying to recall what happened two nights ago when her former mentor was brutally murdered and once again started to question her possible role in his sudden and gruesome fate…

* * *

 **Hey everyone,**

 **I went ahead and started another story based on my favorite female protagonist. Now, for those who might have came across my other writings, you might be asking "what about the other stories you've started, but haven't finished?" (with the exception of _The Two Sides of Luigi_ , which I do plan on finishing). I acknowledge that I have a horrible habit of starting things and not finishing them on this site. But in this instance, I have a good reason for it.**

 **Out of all the Tomb Raider storylines, _Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness_ always had, in my opinion, one of the most cryptic storylines of any of the games. It also had one of the greatest musical scores of any game I've played. In terms of gameplay, it was by far the worst. But in terms of its original intent, I think it would've been a far grander creation had the people at Core Design actually took the time to rationally work out the bugs and restore its initial luster. It's sad to think that there was going to be a sequel that would have resolved any plot inconsistencies that were present. Now we're stuck with what we've got (at least for now, I hope).**

 **However, over the summer I came across a link on _Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness HD Remaster_ 's Facebook page containing a curious set of zipped files which contained many documents pertaining to the development of TRAOD. Apparently, someone had managed to access the original archives of Core Design and was able to recover many of these lost files, many of which contained lost story elements, things that never made it into the game. There was even an outline of the proposed sequel: _Tomb Raider: The Lost Dominion_ buried within! The more I looked, the more fascinated I became. In addition, the original Tomb Raider comic book series (which I proudly own) had already made mention to one of the lost locations of the game, Cappadocia, when they released a string of comics based on it back in the day.**

 **Armed with this new knowledge, I was inspired to start writing this. I hope you've enjoyed the prologue. Overall, its very much the same as in the retail version of _Angel of Darkness_ , but there will be some drastic changes later on, particularly in the arrangement of certain levels and their placement in the game's storyline (which I'll explain later on). In addition, there will also be elements from _The Lost Dominion_ included within! :) **

**I'm excited to take on this project, and I hope you are too. I'll be uploading chapter one soon. I hope to hear your input! See you in the next update ;)**

 **Yours**


	2. Aftermath of the Egyptian Tombs

**Aftermath of the Egyptian Tombs**

* * *

Three days earlier: November 7, 2002

It was another cool, quiet and rather boring autumn day at Croft Manor. The leaves in the trees displayed vibrant shades of orange and red, while the sky displayed a cool shade of gray as rain and wind started making its presence across the English countryside. In response to the growing weather concerns, the builders that had been working to repair damages to the manor from a recent fire had just left for the day, leaving behind scaffolding, as well as a bunch of other tools and equipment. Most of these things were now covered in in sheets, something Winston had done to keep the place tidy and neat. As the faithful butler in Croft Manor for many years, Winston had seen better days on the estate. Going back into the main foyer through the front entrance, he looked up to the galley level and to the left towards the door that lead to his lady's room and sighed. How he wished things would go back to the way they were before the accident.

For weeks on end for almost three years, Lara Croft had been seemingly transfixed in a cycle of staying in her room while occasionally leaving just to wander around the streets of London by herself. To Winston, it was as if she had not spoken to him at all in that time, though he knew that she was not mad at him. Even so, it was still a welcome change from the many rampages that Lara had found herself in during the last few months. For a while, it seemed that Lara's reclusive attitude was starting to take a toll on her sanity. But after the manor was allegedly deliberately set ablaze by none other than herself, her attitude managed to improve a little. However, Lara remained reclusive and anti-social and lamented anything that involved getting her out of the mansion. It had been that way ever since that fateful experience in Egypt almost three years ago.

It was just before Christmas of 1999 when Lara received a phone call from Peter Stothard, the former _Times_ Editor-in-Chief, about rumors of a new tomb that had been discovered near King Tutankhamun's Tomb in Egypt. At the time, Lara did not think much of it, since she used to get these requests often from others in the field of archaeology. Once arriving, she was perplexed at what she found. There were so many tunnels that seemed to lead deeper into the ground, that she arranged to return to Egypt after Christmas. When she returned, her friend Jean Yves told her of another tomb that he had uncovered in the same area and invited her to stay at his place where they arranged an archaeology team to go investigate.

But this particular venture ended badly. While Lara usually returned unscathed and in peace in mind after her tomb raiding experiences, her last adventure almost sealed her fate in a tomb all her own beneath the Great Pyramid of Giza after she saved the world at the turn of the millennium from a dark prophecy after unwittingly fulfilling it herself by removing the Amulet of Horus and releasing the Egyptian god, Set, from his grave. The memory of Werner von Croy, Lara's former friend and mentor, standing at the entrance to Horus' Temple was still vivid in her mind. Fearing that he was still possessed by Set, she had stepped backwards and had unwittingly fallen into an opening chasm. When she finally did reach up, she was shocked to see that Von Croy had not reached her hand and instead fled out of the temple entrance to save himself. After that, she fell into the darkness below, only to find that Von Croy's expedition to recover her body had left by the time she had found her way back up to the surface on her own. Cut, bruised, famished, thirsty and exhausted, Lara thought she would certainly die in the hot Egyptian sun. By then, she had lost all faith and was ready to give up and let her sunburned body succumb to the desert heat. But then something interesting happened. After just a few hours, a mysterious Nomadic tribe passed by and found Lara's body half buried in the sand. During the next four months, Lara was under the care of a Shaman woman who guided Lara through the mental distress she was experiencing as a result of her experience in the Egyptian tombs. By that time, Lara had been presumed dead by everyone else in the world.

Then one day, Winston received the fateful phone call from the authorities in Cairo, the one he had only dreamed of ever receiving: _Lara Croft was alive_. Overjoyed by the exciting news, he arranged for himself to pick her up personally, but not before getting in touch with Lara's relatives to tell them the good news. Knowing that Von Croy had played a part in Lara's situation, he sought to keep his distance from him upon arriving in Egypt, for he knew that he would be part of the homecoming celebration as well. His controversial and somewhat contradictory story of the events in Egypt were not received well by Winston, particularly when Von Croy suggested that he "found her and then lost her again after she wandered off". Upon arriving in Egypt, Winston saw a frail and weakened Lara Croft who was blank and still. Standing with her was the tribal shaman woman with her staff. Lara looked up to see her dear friend and stood to meet him after he approached them. It was the first time in a long time that Winston found himself crying tears of joy over someone that meant a lot to him. But even just after they returned to England, it was clear to Winston that Lara's experiences had a profound effect on her, for she remained silent for almost the entire trip.

That was when Lara's anger spells and chronic alcoholism started to kick in. She was mad at Von Croy for leaving her for dead beneath the Great Pyramid, as well as for the story he had told the authorities of her whereabouts, which she found to be completely absurd. She was also angry at her friends for the statue of her that was commissioned by them soon after her disappearance. She still could not get over the fact that they were so quick to assume that she was dead, even after almost three years after the near-tragedy occurred. Not only that, but the inscription beneath the statue seemed unfitting for her: _Once and Future Adventurer_. It did not take her long to find her pistols and destroy it where it stood, for she absolutely did _not_ want to be remembered as a fallen explorer. It was also the last time she ever picked up a gun. To tie it all together, Lara was angry at herself and her former tomb raiding lifestyle, as it killed her overall spirit and nearly killed her. Surely there was a lot of good that came out of it, but Lara decided it would be best to give it up for good to ensure that no other accidents would happen.

For a few weeks after her return, the papers and television broadcasts around the world were filled with news of Lara's miraculous survival. Reporters and paparazzi had gathered outside the gates of the estate, many of whom had set up tents in hopes that they would get a chance to talk with the infamous Tomb Raider face-to-face. It was not until Lara fired shots from her gun that the reporters left. They never came back. The only comment issued by Lara through Winston was simple and clear: "Leave me alone". Lara Croft, Countess of Abingdon and daughter of Lord Richard and Lady Amelia Croft, had been completely withdrawn from the public eye, and it had remained that way for the past few years. During that time Von Croy had tried to contact Lara many time since the events in Egypt to apologize and make up with her, but she would never answer his calls.

Winston stared up at Lara's door for a few more moments before he decided to slowly make his way towards the kitchen to prepare some breakfast for Miss Croft when, all of a sudden, the doorbell rang.

 _Who could that be?_ Winston thought as he turned around to answer the door. He opened the door and saw that it was the postman carrying a huge stack of envelopes in his right hand.

"Good morning sir." Winston said.

"Good morning." The postman replied. "I have your mail."

"Excellent. Thank you."

"So how have things been going lately?"

"Very slowly, I'm afraid. Miss Croft still isn't in the mood to really talk to anyone." Winston said. "It's been that way since she returned from Egypt."

"I'm sorry to hear that." The postman said. "I hope she becomes social with the public again. I miss hearing about her exciting adventures around the world on the newscasts. It's been awfully quiet and depressing since then."

"I couldn't agree more." Winston replied.

"Speaking of which, I do believe that I have something for Lara Croft in this stack of envelopes."

"Do you know by any chance who it's from?" Winston asked.

"Let me see here…" the postman replied. " _Werner von Croy_."

 _Von Croy._ Winston thought. _The nerve of that man… You'd think by now he would've gotten the hint that Lara doesn't want to talk to him. I'll give the letter to Lara later this afternoon. I'd hate for her to start another one of her rages…_

"I'll be sure Lara gets this." Winston said. "Thank you."

"You have a good day!" the postman said.

"You too."

Winston closed the door and continued his previous route to the kitchen, where he set the letter aside for Lara to read later. He figured it would be best for her to read it at a later date to avoid any conflict that would arise. After all, she was already showing signs of improvement.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Winston decided it was the right time to go up to Lara's room and bring her the letter. Upon reaching the door, Winston knocked.

"Come in, Winston." came Lara's voice from inside. Winston opened the door, and found Lara laying on her bed reading a book when she turned towards him with a tired expression on her face.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Miss Croft." Winston said. "I just wanted to bring you your mail."

"Just leave it on the table next to my bed." Lara replied. "I'll get to it later."

"Yes, my lady." Winston said, placing the envelope on the night stand. "Is it alright if we talk for a little bit? You haven't said much at all today."

"I suppose." Lara said. "It's hard when you have so many bad memories floating through your mind that prevent one from getting over the suffering they endured."

"Listen, Miss Croft. I know you've been through rough times lately and I realize that you've been betrayed by many people, but you have to let go of what happened in the past. You can't stay mad at the world forever. Everyone's been turning their backs on you ever since you withdrew from the public scene. Maybe you should seek some help."

"I'm sorry, Winton. I just can't do that. After the things Von Croy pulled in Egypt, I simply cannot forgive him. If he wants to get a hold of me, he would at least try to come here in person! It's not like he would apologize anyway…"

"I understand, Miss Croft. I realize that what Von Croy did in Egypt was completely nonsensical. But maybe all of this would have been avoided had you not broken into VCI to steal the Iris back from him almost five years ago. That was part of the reason why he was chasing after you in the first place…"

"Don't you dare bring that up again!" Lara said. "I had every reason to take the Iris back from him! For one, he was using its powers in a way that could have gotten everyone killed! Second, it was rightfully mine to begin with, since I was the first to reach it in that race me and him went through in Cambodia all those years ago! He never had to throw a huge fit over it! Besides, it's not like I'm going to be getting back to tomb raiding anytime soon… I'm done saving the world from ancient prophecies and risking my life to find precious treasure!"

"But that's what made you great in the eyes of people in the first place!" Winston said. "Have you forgotten about all of the achievements you've accomplished in your adventures?!"

"I'm done with all of that Winston!" Lara said. "I just want to settle down and be a normal lady for once, maybe find a man that I can call my husband."

"Well, you're not going to find anyone if you lock yourself in here all the time." Winston replied. Lara gave him a slight glare just as Winston realized his mistake.

"Just go, Winston." Lara said. "I need some more time…"

There's no point in arguing with Lara. Winston left the bedroom distraught and depressed, knowing that Lara would not be willing to listen to his reasoning. It was almost as if she were in fact dead and never survived the Egyptian incident. Still, he retained his belief that Lara would sooner or later recover from her depressed state. There was no way she could stay like this forever.

* * *

 _What has gotten into me?_ Lara thought as she reminisced her conversation with Winston. _I never yell at him like that. Maybe I am going insane. But he's wrong about me going back to what I used to do. There's no way I'm going to risk my life anymore like that!_

Without even realizing it, Lara picked up the envelope that Winston dropped on her nightstand and ripped it open, failing to notice who the sender was. Inside, she found a letter that had been written in almost unreadable handwriting. It seemed as though it was rushed. Upon closer examination, she cringed when she started reading it.

…

 _Dear Lara,_

 _I know what you're thinking, You're probably thinking this is another pathetic attempt from your old mentor to get ahold of you after what happened in Egypt. But before you throw this letter away, I want you to know that I'm in trouble. Creepy things having been happening for the past five weeks and I don't know what's going on. Please come to my apartment in Paris as quickly as possible! I am fearing for my life as I write this. We need to talk and resolve some unfinished business between us._

 _Yours apologetically,_

 _Werner_

…

The last few sentences sparked Lara's interest. _Werner in trouble? Why was Werner so scared?_ The thought of her former mentor reaching out to her out of fear was striking, since she knew that Von Croy did not usually scare that easily. Still, her anger towards him clouded her interpretation of the letter. _Was he just trying to lure me there to make up? Is he really in trouble?_ Nevertheless, she thought about the letter for a few minutes before she made up her mind. As much as she wanted to just stay at home, Lara figured that she could use a vacation from her boring reality. It would not be one of her usual trips, but at least she would not be pouting around the manor all day, wishing that she was living like a normal lady. She could visit Werner on the first day, get out soon as possible, and then spend two weeks enjoying the sights of Paris and the rest of France, she figured. That way she could really spend some quality time with herself. To Lara, it sounded like a plan. She would leave first thing tomorrow for Paris.

Lara got up from her bed and entered her walk-in closet to find some clothes for the trip. She decided to wear something casual for the trip tomorrow: a black shirt, denim jacket, a pair of expensive brown sneakers, and a pair of naturally-faded jeans. Sifting through her other clothes, Lara came across a chilling reminder of her past. It was her old brown leather backpack, the same backpack she found from her journey with Von Croy through the ruins of Cambodia and the one that she used in all of her recent adventures. Knowing that she did not have anything else to use for carrying things for her vacation, she reluctantly took it and put it inside her suitcase along with the rest of her belongings. Now, it was just a matter of booking a flight.

"Miss Croft. What on earth are you doing?" Winston asked.

"I need a vacation, Winston. I'm going to Paris tomorrow." Lara replied. "Apparently, Von Croy needs me to go to his apartment to work things out and help him with something that's scaring him. It's in that letter he sent me."

"Scaring him? What could possibly scare Von Croy?"

"I don't know, Winston. He never explicitly mentioned it. But I'm only going to his apartment for one day, after which I might spend another two weeks enjoying the sights of France to try and forget about the horrible memories that still lurk in my mind."

"Well, at least you're getting out of the manor for once." Winston replied. "Honestly, I'm shocked. I never thought I would see the day."

"Neither did I." Lara said. "I just hope this visit with Werner will be short. Meanwhile, I still need to actually book my flight for tomorrow. It'll be nice travelling without having to worry about anything."

Winston stepped out of the room once more and could not help but feel relieved. Lara was actually leaving the manor for the first time in three years to somewhere else in the world and not just to run errands or roam around the streets of London. He hoped that things would go well for Lara and Werner and that they would make up and become friends again. But there was something that did not seem right about the circumstances for Werner wanting Lara to visit him. Why would Werner be too scared to leave his apartment? Both Lara and Winston could not put their fingers on it, but they both agreed that Lara's venture to the French capital would be great for her. Still, something just did not seem right.

* * *

 **Here's the first chapter. It is quite evident that Lara has been a recluse ever since her experience in Egypt and that she's been holding a grudge against Von Croy for what had happened. Apparently, in the pre-development stage for TRAOD, the original intent was for Lara to go completely off-the-rocker insane after the events TR4. I've read multiple articles and post online that have mentioned it, but I wasn't sure if they were legitimate or not. In any case, it is probably safe to say that if Core ever envisioned it, it was immediately scrapped. In addition, I wasn't able to find anything in the Core files related to Lara "going insane". Therefore, this chapter is merely speculation and imagination on my part.**

 **In addition, I made a few references to previous games, _Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation_ (TR4) and _Tomb Raider: Chronicles_ (TR5) being the two obvious ones. The third and least obvious reference I made was to the _Times_ bonus level (which to my understanding is a sort of prequel to TR4) released exclusively on PC in 2000 in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the discovery of King Tutankhamun's tomb.**

 **The next chapter will start out in Paris with Lara making her way to Von Croy's Apartment. See you in the next update!**

 **saturn95**


	3. Trouble in Paris

**Trouble in Paris**

* * *

As Lara lay in her bed that night, thoughts continued to race through her mind about Werner. For him to be scared so easily was something that she had never seen from him before, even as a teenager trekking through the temples of Cambodia. What could be causing him to fall into such an intense state of hysteria? The more Lara thought about, the more suspicious she became, and the more unwilling she became to go to Paris. Nevertheless, despite her prominent dark thoughts of the past, she forced herself to go through with her plans by thinking ahead to the things she was planning on doing in France after the meeting. For the first time in three years, Lara felt inclined to travel beyond the confines of London and her own mansion. Even though her French skills were not entirely the best in the world, she knew enough to where she would be able to get around the country without any problems.

The last time Lara visited France was back in 1998. It was immediately following her ordeal in Antarctica with Dr. Willard and the four meteorite artifacts when Lara discovered his wallet. Inside was a cryptic telegram urging Willard to return to Scotland immediately to take delivery of a fifth meteorite artifact. Instinctively, Lara set out to retrieve the stone, later discovered to be the legendary Hand of Rathmore, and followed a trail that took her from Willard's subterranean laboratory in Scotland to the Paris Catacombs, where she had yet another intense confrontation with the evil London cosmetologist, Sophia Leigh. Now, four years later, Lara would be returning to the French capital. At least this time she would be able to enjoy the sights and not have to worry about anything else, with the exception of Von Croy. Even so, there was still something that did not seem to add up. Nevertheless, Lara was able to force herself to close her eyes and drift off into a deep sleep. She could not wait to spend time in France as an actual tourist.

* * *

The Next Day…

Lara arrived in Paris at about ten o'clock in the morning local time. She was hoping that the weather in France would fare better than it did back home, but was disappointed to see that the sky was overcast, and the streets wet from the rain that was pouring down heavily. In spite of this, Lara was not at all emotionally dampened by the cold, wet weather. With her baggage in hand, she immediately called for a taxi, after which she directed the driver to the hotel she would be staying at. Judging by the facial expressions from the driver through the rear-view mirror, it seemed to Lara that the man knew who she was and was familiar with the things she had done in years past, but he did not say a word. Maybe the driver was not quite sure if it was her or not? In any case, it was not long before she arrived at her destination and she paid the driver for taking her there.

Out of all the luxury hotels in Paris, Lara chose to stay at _La Tremoille_. Located in the heart of the Golden Triangle and in a quiet street between Montaigne Avenue, Georges V Avenue and the Champs-Elysees, _La Tremoille_ had always been one of the jewels in Paris' realm of traditional deluxe hotels. It had recently reopened its doors to the public in June after fifteen months of extensive transformation. The outside of the building associates the brilliant architecture of the Haussmann era with a contemporary elegant style, giving it the signature feeling of high class to anyone who passed by. The hotel's steadfast, quality-conscious personnel are always ready to greet people in resolutely contemporary decor. The ninety-three comfortable, modern rooms are decorated in over thirty harmonious color schemes that vary from room to room and leave guests with a unique and warm feeling of unpretentious luxury. The hotel also features absolute privacy for guests who request it, thanks to a unique system installed in all rooms. Each room at the _Tremoille_ has a private compartment - called the "Hatch"- linking it to the hallway, so that room service can be brought to one's room without service staff actually entering the room.

Lara checked into her room and almost immediately fell onto the bed. It was so comfortable that she decided to relax for a bit before she decided to go anywhere else. She picked up the remote that was resting on the nearby nightstand and decided to turn on the television. It was unusual for her to watch any television, but Lara was always fascinated by foreign broadcasts. She decided to switch it to the local news and see what kinds of things are happening in France. There were many striking headlines, but there was one that seemed to stick in her mind the most, as it was the top story on every news channel she came across:

PARISIAN "MONSTRUM" MURDERS FORCE ENTIRE CITY INTO STATE OF HIDING

Lara watched as they showed graphic photographs of many murder scenes. As far as she could tell, there was over a dozen. Each of them displayed what appeared to be unrecognizable symbols that, according to the news anchors, indicated some kind of weird ritualistic behavior. A map showing the locations of the murder scenes indicated that most of the murders in Paris occurred within the gangland factions. The more she saw, the more her thoughts seemed to come back to Von Croy. With him being in the middle of all of this, could it be the reason why he was so scared? Lara thought about this some more. It still would not make any sense in explaining his behavior because, again, Lara had seen him go through much more frightening obstacles, both in Cambodia and Egypt. Maybe there was something else that she was not aware of? Pulling her mind away from it, Lara turned off the television and decided to unload her belongings. Once she got her things settled in, she grabbed her old backpack and decided to leave and visit some of the more interesting sites of Paris.

* * *

It was about seven o'clock in the evening when Lara arrived back at the hotel. She had just recently had a fancy dinner at one of Paris' most popular restaurants after a busy day of sight-seeing. The first place she had visited was the Notre Dame Cathedral, after which she had a quick lunch break near the Eiffel Tower while admiring its iconic splendor. After that, she spent much of the afternoon looking around some of the more popular shopping centers in Paris before finding the restaurant where she had a filling dinner. Her experiences seemed to spring even more life into Lara, for it was the first time in a while that she did not feel the slightest bit moody or upset and was fully relaxed and enjoying her time to herself. Now that she was back in her fancy hotel suite, all Lara wanted to do was lie in her bed and fall asleep. Thinking ahead, she decided that tomorrow would be a good day to visit the Louvre and take in all of the historical artwork and artifacts. But then, she remembered something important. She still had to get a hold of Werner.

Reaching for her cell phone, Lara searched through her contacts using the tiny keypad and found Werner's number. She was somewhat surprised that she still had his number saved under her contacts, giving her feelings toward him after the incident. After a few moments of staring at the screen, she slowly pressed down on the talk button and she heard the other line ringing. After a few moments, Lara though about hanging up. Maybe he was already in bed? But then, she heard someone answer the line and Lara could hear Von Croy's heavy breathing.

"Who is it?" came Werner's thick Austrian accent from the other line. It seemed clear from his reaction that the phone call took him by surprise.

"Werner, it's Lara." Lara replied.

"Oh…thank goodness…" Werner said. "I thought you were someone else… I never thought I would ever hear from you again!"

"Werner, is everything alright? What's going on?"

"I can't tell you over the phone! Someone might be listening in our conversation…"

"Who?"

"No time… Lara, are you in town by any chance?"

"Maybe…"

"Could you please come over to my apartment as soon as possible? I live on Rue Valise in apartment nine. It's in the Chantell Building. It's urgent! Please! Come quickly!"

"I'll be over there soon."

After that, the connection was immediately broken. _What has come up on Werner to make him so jumpy?_ Lara thought. _I guess he was more scared than I would've imagined! Whatever it is, I hope he's not putting on some kind of show! I guess it's about time we took care of some unfinished business…_

Lara grabbed her backpack from the bed and immediately called reception to get her a taxi. She was not looking forward to the meeting with her former mentor, but once it was over, she could do the things she intended to do while she was in France. Lara left the hotel shortly thereafter and saw the taxi was already there waiting for her. Looking around, it was dark outside and raining profusely. The lights of Paris were shining brightly all around and breaking the darkness, yet there was hardly anyone out and about. Hardly usual for the French capital, especially at this hour.

"Where to, mademoiselle?" the driver asked.

Lara gave him the address and the taxi immediately took off down the street towards her destination. Looking out the window, Lara watched as the street lamps and buildings flew past her. She reached into her denim jacket and realized that she still had the dark sunglasses that she had bought earlier from her shopping adventure. She placed them back in her pocket just as the taxi came to a slow and steady halt in front of the Chantell Building. She thanked the driver, paid him the fee, and started making her way towards the front steps of the building. Looking around, Lara was immediately taken by how abandoned and rundown the entire block looked. Even the Chantell Building itself looked shabby, almost as if it had been years since its last maintenance job. Only one word came to Lara's mind as she looked around: derelict.

 _Werner lives here? In this dump?_ Lara thought. _I never would've thought that Werner had gone so far downhill since our last reunion in Egypt… I guess I better get inside before I get too wet from the rain._

Lara approached the front door of the apartment building and found a button. She rang for apartment nine."

"Lara, is that you?" Werner's said nervously through the speaker.

"Yes, it's me." she replied. A buzzing sound was immediately heard afterwards, signaling for her to enter. Lara did just that and started making her way up to Werner's apartment, located on the third floor. Despite there being multiple floors, Lara realized that the complex was not at all that large. All in all, there were just twelve apartments within the complex, most of which seemed to be interlocked with each other. There was a lot of noise coming from some of the rooms, signaling that the walls in the complex were not that thick and that many of the apartments lacked any privacy. Finally, Lara made it to Werner's door and knocked. A few seconds later, the door opened and, for the first time in three years, she found herself face-to-face with the one man she had once called friend.

"Thank goodness, you're here Lara!" Werner said. "It's been a long time since we've seen each other."

"What's this all about, Werner?" Lara asked in a somewhat stern tone. "Tell me what's going on."

"Please, come in!" Werner said, ushering her inside.

Looking around as she followed her former mentor around the corner, Lara saw that Werner's apartment was much more spacious that it seemed from the outside. Straight ahead from the entrance was a well-furnished living area that was complete with a large beautifully detailed rug on which a large blue couch and two small blue chairs rested on top. There was also a large circular window on the far wall that had white semi-transparent drapes hanging in front of it, as well as two gargoyle statues resting on the floor beneath. In addition, there was also a small decorative chest of drawers on the right side of the room, where a large painting hung just above it. On the wall behind Lara beside the entrance were shelves containing all of Von Croy's books and notes from previous archaeological ventures and research. Just to Lara's left past a decorated wooden barrier with warped glass windows, she was able to make out a study area. There was a small desk on the far side and another desk with a terminal on the near side, which casted a bluish glow onto the reddish rug that lay in there. It was evident that Werner was on the computer fairly recently.

As she made her way towards the living area, Lara also caught sight of Werner's kitchen in the back corner just beyond the study area behind another wooden barrier and next to a large spiral staircase that led up to the second level of the suite. It was complete with a large white refrigerator and a central 'hub' where Werner would do all of his cooking. There was green backsplash on the far wall that wrapped all around the area where the counters and other appliances stood. The last thing that Lara noticed as she sat down on the couch was the dining area just to the left of the living area past two large supporting brick structures. The dining table and the chairs that went along with it, were simplistic in their design, as were the two lighting fixtures that were hanging above the table. All in all, compared to the rest of the apartment complex, Von Croy's apartment was rather decent-looking.

Lara watched as Von Croy sat in one of the blue chairs directly across from her and started to engage her in conversation. She hoped that whatever he had to say would fix their broken friendship and restore peace between them. But she also wanted to figure out why he was acting so strangely when they were on the phone. Whatever it was, she was bound to find out soon. She waited for him to talk first before she engaged herself.

"Finally, we're in a safe place to communicate." Werner said as he rested his arms.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" Lara asked. "I'd hate to come all the way here for nothing."

"I can assure you that I will explain everything to you now. I apologize for acting so strangely towards you on this subject. But the truth is, I am scared for my life. Strange things have been happening for the past month that I cannot explain and I didn't know who else to turn to but you."

Werner turned his attention toward the kitchen.

"Would you like something to eat or drink, my dear?"

"No thanks. I just had a good meal not too long ago." Lara replied. "So, what kind of things have been happening that have you all stirred up?"

"Haven't you heard about all the murders that have taken place throughout the city?!" Werner said. "I get frightened every time I walk out of my apartment! Most of the murders that have happened so far have been in this part of town, and I'm afraid that I'll be the next one to die!"

"I saw it on the news earlier at my hotel suite." Lara said. "All of the murder scenes show strange symbols written in blood and seem to indicate signs of some ritualistic fixation. That's about all I know and care to know… But, Werner. What does all of this have to with me? Why am I even here?"

Werner sighed for a moment, then started to answer Lara's question. It was almost as if he did not want to tell her, but he proceeded anyway.

"Help me, Lara." he said. "I need you to get something for me."

"Go on…"

"I'm tracking five _Obscura Paintings_ for a client called Eckhardt. But he's a psychopath…"

 _What?!_ Lara thought as felt her facial expression turn sour. _You mean to say that you're using me just get artifacts for one of_ your _clients?! Whatever happened to us fixing our friendship?! Besides, I'm not interested in looking for these kinds of things anymore…_

"Not my problem!" Lara shouted. "You took the commission and now you're out of your depth! Why should I care?"

Werner stood from his chair.

"Because I'm being stalked!" he replied. "I daren't go into the streets… People are dying out there!"

"Handle it, Werner! I had to when you abandoned me in the tombs!"

Lara stood up to meet Werner and then almost immediately turned to leave. Werner then quickly picked up a piece of paper that was lying on the nearby chest and thrust it into Lara's hand before she had a good chance to head for the door.

"Lara, please!" he said in a desperate tone. "Look. Go and see this woman, Carvier. She can help…"

Almost immediately, Lara threw the piece of paper on the floor and Werner was getting increasingly desperate. But she did not care. The only thing that was on her mind now was getting as far away from Werner as she possibly could and find her way back to her hotel suite.

"Sort out your own mess! I'm going!" Lara spat.

"No, wait!" Werner pleaded as he reached for Lara's shoulder. "You can't leave!"

Almost immediately, Lara spun around and pushed him back into his chair. She leaned on the arms of the chair and got up into his face.

" _Egypt_ , Werner…" she said in a dark, cold voice. "You walked away and _left me_ …"

Almost immediately, Werner quickly pulled out a gun from his shirt.

"Get out!" he shouted. After that, Lara suddenly fell unconscious and everything around her faded to blackness…

* * *

Lara slowly opened her eyes and found that she was lying on the floor. _What the hell just happened?_ she thought as she started to wonder where she was at. It did not take her long to figure that she was still in Werner's apartment. As she slowly got up from the carpet, she realized that something was not right. Looking across the living area, the furniture had been toppled and there were blood stains everywhere. Looking over towards the right wall, Lara's stomach sank in horror as she discovered the same strange symbols she had seen earlier, reminiscent of the crime scenes for each of the Monstrum killings that were shown on the news broadcasts. Then, she glanced over towards the now-broken circular window and saw a lump on the ground. It was Werner.

"What happened?" Lara questioned out loud as she tried to remember what happened. The first and last thing she could remember was Werner pulling out a gun her. Did he try threatening her? Was he trying to kill her? As much as she tried to remember, she could recall anything else. All she knew was that the room was a mess and in the midst of it was Werner's body. Slowly, Lara moved towards him to investigate the extent of his injuries. She reached under his body to hold him and found that he was limp and had no pulse. He was dead.

Lara's greatest horror was now realized. Whatever reconciliation that she and Werner could have made was now gone forever. There was no way that things would get better between them and it was something that would surely haunt Lara for the rest of her life. As a final act of kindness, she kissed Werner's forehead and put his limp body back onto the floor. When she stood up, she looked at her arms and her eyes widened. To her horror, they were covered with blood.

 _Oh my god!_ Lara thought. _Did I do this?!_

The more she thought about, the less she understood. Everything was so confusing and blank in her mind, for she was unable to remember clearly what happened, let alone how it happened. Blood on the wall, blood on her hands. Was she responsible for what happened? Did Winston think correctly when he feared Lara was losing her sanity? For the first time in a while, Lara was truly terrified. She did not know what to do or who to turn to for help. The police would have a hard time believing her, she knew. She could not return to England either, for the authorities would undoubtedly find it suspicious. The only thing that she could do was run away. She was about to head out the door, when she stepped on the something. Looking down, Lara saw the crumpled piece of paper containing Carvier's address. Picking up the paper, she suddenly had an idea.

 _Werner did mention that Carvier would help me help him get what he wants._ Lara thought. _If I can't go home and I can't turn to the police for help, maybe Carvier can provide me some answers and clarification to what Werner wanted from me. Looks as though I'll be helping Werner anyway… After all, it's the only thing I can do to 'avenge' his death._

Looking at the piece of paper, Lara realized that Carvier's address was not that far from where she was now. She placed the paper in the right front pocket of her denim jacket, grabbed her backpack and made a mad dash for the door as she started to hear the blaring of French police sirens make their way towards the building. She had to leave the apartment complex and fast.

* * *

Lara ran outside to find that it was still raining hard. In an effort to stay dry and avoid the attention of others who may have witnessed the drama inside the apartment, Lara jogged down the road and then decided to take a shortcut down an alleyway. From her position, it seemed as the police sirens were getting much closer to her from every direction. In response, Lara started to dash in a full run in an effort to reach the end of the alley before the police did. But then, a police van skid in front of her and she froze.

 _Shit_! Lara thought. _How can this get any worse?_

Just then, the back doors of the police van opened and two dogs, followed by two gendarme officers who followed behind. Instinctively, Lara started running the other way, looking around for another way to escape the oncoming threat. She quickly spotted a doorway partway down the alley that seemed to lead into one of the abandoned apartment blocks. Having no other choice, she shouldered the door open with all of her strength and started to run up the stairs, while trying to keep her footing as she slightly tripped on one of the steps. The dogs were getting closer as Lara finally made it up to the top and turned right before dashing down the corridor. She had no idea where she was going, or where she needed to go next and the dogs were now getting much closer to her. To her dismay, the corridor stopped abruptly at a dead end aside from a window. Even so, there was no way, Lara would be able to climb out the window before the dogs would get to her. In a split second, she saw the dogs jump straight at her face while she tried to turn around. The force of the dogs impacting her body was great even to send Lara careening straight through the old window in a shower of glass. She landed hard on the ground below, sustaining a few scrapes on her elbows and knees. She got up and immediately realized that something was missing. Looking up at the now-shattered window, Lara saw one of the dogs carrying her lucky backpack in their mouth.

 _Great!_ Lara thought. _Now I'm screwed!_

Turning away from the dogs, Lara spotted a nearby door. She immediately rushed down another corridor until she arrived in another, much larger, enclosed courtyard. There was a staircase to her left through an old ornate rusty gate that lead down to the street level. She was going to pass through the gate when she stopped and realized an obvious fact.

 _I could just vault over the railings_! Lara thought. _For crying out loud, woman! You're Lara Croft! You don't need to go through that door_!

She followed her own advice and quickly jumped the railings before landing firmly onto the ground below. She then stood up and started searching for another way out.

* * *

 **Trouble in Paris, indeed! Lara now officially a fugitive on the run and is now doing everything in her best** **interest to escape the police. With Werner dead, her possessions out of reach, and nowhere else for her to turn, Lara is now making way towards Carvier's apartment, in hopes that she can learn more about what Werner wanted her to do for him. How will she make it there, knowing that the police will be swarming around the area? Will she make it unscathed? Find out in the next chapter!**

 **saturn95**


End file.
